Firefighters were struggling through intense heat in difficult terrain to get the upper hand on the still spreading Ranch2 fire in the mountains north of Azusa on Sunday.
The sweltering weather, with temperatures reaching triple digits amid little humidity, posed a challenge for fire crews on the ground trudging up the sides of San Gabriel Canyon, just west of Highway 39.
“It’s just so hot today,” said Daniela Zepeda, a spokeswoman for the Angeles National Forest.
An excessive heat warning was in effect for all of Southern California, except for the coasts, according to the National Weather Service in Los Angeles.
Temperatures reached the low 100s in the San Gabriel Mountains, where fire crews were trying to keep the Ranch2 fire from spreading east of the 39 and south of Red Box Road.
The wildfire was still “very active” Sunday, Zepeda said. She said crews had the task of digging hand lines around the fire, an extremely difficult job given how steep parts of San Gabriel Canyon can be.
“The terrain is very steep, and there’s a lot of dry brush fueling the fire. The flames are burning uphill,” she said. “(The fire crews) are really trying hard to contain it — it’s just hard terrain to work in.”
As of mid-morning Sunday, the fire had burned 2,256 acres, and was 7 percent contained.
More resources, including firefighters and firefighting vehicles, were being devoted to the Ranch2 fire, Zepeda said. But there will be no relief coming from the weather.
The heat warning was expected to be in effect for the area until at least Wednesday, said Pete Curran, a state meteorologist working at a camp near where the Ranch2 fire was burning.
Fire weather forecast for the #Ranch2Fire pic.twitter.com/8msmb7f1OR
— Angeles_NF (@Angeles_NF) August 16, 2020
And more thunderstorms were in the forecast, Curran said. Thunderstorms were reported Saturday to the east of Route 39, producing strong winds that buffeted the canyons where the fire was burning.
Curran said fire officials were “really worried” about those three factors: the heat, the low humidity, and the storms.
“All of those things are problematic issues,” he said.
Lake fire
Almost four days after it started, the Lake fire was still burning mostly out of control on Sunday.
The fire — which was burning on the west side of the Angeles National Forest in the Lake Huhges area near Lancaster and Palmdale — consumed thousands more acres burned over the weekend, with the total area burned now recorded at 17,862 acres. Containment of the fire was 12 percent.
The fire was still so big that it was creating its own weather — officials said fire crews were dealing with “gusty and erratic” winds being created by the fire’s massive smoke plume, as well as the nearby thunderstorms.
The gusts created spot fires that overran some of the firefighters containment lines.
Fire inspectors also found more destroyed structures Saturday. The Lake fire so far has burnt down at least 33 buildings, including 12 homes, and damaged three.
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Fires near Azusa, Lancaster still burning out of control, with triple-digit temps, thunderstorms hampering firefighters - LA Daily News
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